Actually, no, it does not hurt. Seriously,
in all of my post-transplant experience, I never had any pain that I could
blame on the operation or the incision.

Which is not to say that I was not uncomfortable
at various times. What made me uncomfortable were things like one
particularly obnoxious nurse that felt that she had to yell to get me up
in the morning, or being woken up at 6AM to have my weight taken, or being
mistreated by the infamous night shift at the sub-acute rehab center, or
being made to have PFT's done a day after a bronchoscopy, or being woken
up by a psychologist that felt I should know I was a prime candidate for
post-transplant depression, or breaking a tooth on an Italian sandwich
on a hard roll (my first civilian meal), or hospital food in the ICU, or
endless Ensures, or depressing hygeine facilities at the rehab center,
or any number of other incidental things.

But pain? Not really. Why?

Well, drugs would be one answer. And aside
from regular painkillers, I received a spinal tap about two days after
surgery. Not to mention that the gifted surgeons I had made a perfect
incision. Want to see it? Probably not, but it's time:

The scar, one week after
removal of 60 staples (with Hickman Catheter).

I know, it makes you feel kind of hinky (that's
Police talk). I figured that after telling you how painless it was,
you'd be ready for it. Maybe I was wrong. Frankly, if you're
a guy and have any chest hair at all, in about a year you'll never even
know it's there (Cyclosporin does that to you). If you're a woman,
then I don't really know what to tell you, except that it is not the same
as having a mastectomy. In fact, some men have been described as
having what sort of look like breasts after the operation, so who knows?
It may even become an enhancement. Um, maybe it would be a good idea
to take a break here.